The number of overdoses reported to police so far this year has already matched the figure reported by Morton Hospital for all of 2013.

Taunton police responded to two calls Thursday night of people either unconscious or semiconscious after using heroin.

That brings to 129 the number of heroin overdoses reported to police since the beginning of the year. Morton Hospital in Taunton reported that same number of heroin overdoses, 129, treated at the hospital in 2013.

A total of eight people have died from heroin overdoses in Taunton so far this year, including a 36-year-old woman Wednesday morning.

Police said the first call on Thursday came in just after 9 p.m. for a 21-year-old man who overdosed in the lower-level bathroom of Macy’s in the Silver City Galleria mall. He was treated at the scene and taken to Morton Hospital for evaluation, police said.

The second incident was at 11:30 p.m. Police said they were called to 190 Fremont St. where a 48-year-old man was being treated by paramedics for a heroin overdose. He also was taken to Morton Hospital.

No other details of the two incidents were available.

Police also responded to a non-fatal OD call at 9 a.m. at the Country Village Estates apartment complex at 816 County St.

Officers said, by the time they arrived, a paramedic with an American Medical Response ambulance crew was administering the overdose antidote Narcan to a woman, who regained consciousness shortly thereafter.

Police said a 21-year-old friend of the victim in the apartment appeared to be under the influence. Police said when they asked her if she had been using heroin she replied “only a little.”

Both women were taken to Morton Hospital for evaluation.

Local first-responders — including ambulance crews, police and firefighters — have been responding to what has been a steady stream of heroin overdoses during the past three or four months.

Morton Hospital reported treating approximately 41 heroin overdose patients in February and approximately 43 OD victims in January.

Taunton police, as well as law enforcement in other cites and states, have attributed a spike in the number of heroin overdoses and related deaths to an influx of cheap heroin laced with the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

Taunton Fire Chief Timothy Bradshaw said Thursday his firefighters will be equipped with the nasal-spray version of Narcan in the next few weeks.

Police said the 36-year-old woman who died this week, Melissa Patnaude, lost consciousness in a third-floor apartment at 9 Taunton Green.

She died a few hours later in Morton Hospital, according to her parents. The woman, who leaves behind two daughters, 16 and 19, had been using heroin for at least a few years, they said.

Taunton Police Chief James Walsh said his department is doing what it can to cope with the number of overdose calls. “It’s an ongoing struggle,” he said.

Page 2 of 2 - Walsh credits his officers with “making great strides” in communicating information regarding social services to overdose victims and their parents.

“We try to connect to the people to help them the best we can. But we can’t stop someone from sticking a needle in their arm or snorting (heroin)” he said. “It’s going to be a long struggle.”